Frailty Of The Mind
by PhoenixGirl561
Summary: Seal the Breach and find the one responsible for it, that was all the Inquisition and its Herald needed to do. Strange phenomenons begin to appear; other worldly people are being dropped into Thedas and people from Thedas are dragged to Maker knows where through dark grey rifts. The organization later finds that their problems are on a much larger scale.
1. New World

So, this is my first time publishing a story here on FanFiction so I'm not entirely used to this website yet. I'm primarily uncertain as to how to add author notes properly so I'm going to do it like this.

Anyways this is a crossover between Dragon Age: Inquisition and a choose your own adventure story known as "Fallen Hero: Rebirth". You can get Fallen Hero on Steam or the App store on your phone, I recommend that you give it a try unless you don't care for spoilers since there are most certainly going to be spoilers in this story. I'm currently in love with "Fallen Hero: Rebirth" and this crossover came to mind. This first chapter is going to be short so bear with me.

I will add a few of my own flares to the story and slight tweaking of events (Such as the mage Trevelyan character going to join the rebels and staying in RedCliffe instead), but anyways enjoy!

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Vertigo, breathlessness, a moment of lost gravity. That was what Morgan was currently feeling as they tumbled through the endless dark abyss that threatened to swallow them whole. Faces flashed by, familiar areas came to the fore front of their mind, shared words and experiences between the people they knew, and the hardship they all had to face together. They forced the memories down, knowing that this wasn't the time for them, rather it was the time for concentration until they felt their body hit the ground stomach first. The hard impact knocked the air out of their lungs momentarily and they groaned in pain as they placed their palms against the dirt in order to pick themselves up. That's when they briefly froze as the detail clicked in their mind;

Dirt and grass, not pavement.

It was then that their mind picked up the sharp stab of fright and they narrowly dodged the fireball that singed the ground they were just on moments ago. As they swiftly got to their feet their mind paused once more; hang on a moment, a fireball? What the-

"Damn mage!" Again Morgan dodged the next incoming attack which so happened to be the blade of a sword.

Not time to think, only to act. Their dodge had positioned them on the outside of the limb and they were swift to grab the arm that held the sword and pull the man forward to have his face crack against their elbow, feeling and hearing bone breaking beneath the strike. The blow sent the man staggering back as he pawed at his broken nose momentarily before anger flashed in his eyes and he went to attack Morgan once more who was prepared to fight back. Before he got close enough for Morgan to strike however another fireball struck him dead center in the chest and sent him flying backwards, hitting and skidding across the ground before going limp. Whether he was alive or dead was hardly Morgan's concern as they were swift to spin around to see who the second party was.

Before them stood a woman with platinum blonde hair tied into a ponytail and hazel eyes that were accented by fair skin and a black tattoo that curled under her left eye, accompanied by a smaller design above the tip of her eyebrow and close to the bridge of her nose. She wore a dark red tunic that had silver accents and had two dark brown pouches that were tied around her waist, the pouches tied above the dark grey vest that had metal clasps and dipped into petal like shapes in the front and back and stopped just above her knees. She had dark brown leggings with leather black boots, a hooded black overcoat that reached the middle of her lower legs that retained a similar petal-like shape at the bottom and was lined with grey fur on the inside, metal gauntlets with semi-sharp fingertips, and a bag draped over her shoulder. She looked like one of those mages that came from video games and fantasy stories, which further confused Morgan.

The woman raised her hands in a non-threatening gesture, a finely crafted staff with a curved sickle blade at the top and a smaller blade on the bottom held firmly in her left hand "I didn't mean to attack you earlier, you just frightened me is all." She said with a slight English accent "I'm sorry about that, I was only acting out of instinct after you dropped out of Maker knows where."

Morgan shook their head as they got out of their offensive stance "It's fine, I don't blame you for that, but who are you?" They asked with a slight tilt of their head and caution in their green eyes, allowing the woman to approach them.

"My name is Verna, if you don't mind I have a few questions for you once we-" She stopped and Morgan didn't need a moment to register that reinforcements were coming.

"Lets go!" Verna hissed as she grabbed Morgan by the wrist, throwing up an ice wall between them and the approaching enemies before swiftly fleeing with them in tow.

Morgan could feel how her hand slightly quivered, and when they took a moment to look carefully at her body language they could see the fatigue that she was trying to mask.

 _ **'Low on magic, can't risk using what's left of my reserves unless I want to threaten my own life. Won't do either of us any good.'**_ Those were the surface thoughts that Morgan picked up on.

The two slowed down eventually once they were certain that they were no longer being pursued and they could take a moment to catch their breath "Damn those Templars, doesn't matter who they kill anymore." Verna growled quietly under her breath as she ran a hand across her hair.

She then looked back to Morgan "I wasn't able to get your name, who are you? And… where exactly did you come from?"

Morgan sighed at the expected questions and rubbed their face "It's Morgan Rivers, and I doubt telling you about where I came from will make the situation any less confusing. To be honest I have no idea what's happening."

"Well, that makes two of us." Verna nodded at Morgan "Lets just head back to RedCliffe for now and figure out this mess there. It's safer being there than out here now a days." She paused briefly before quickly adding "It's a town that isn't too far from here."

Morgan simply made a head gesture that said 'lead the way' to which Verna did just that. As Morgan silently traveled alongside Verna they couldn't stop the passing thought as they tried to tie together their scrambled mind:

' _ **Christ, this day just got messy.'**_


	2. New Friends

On their way to Redcliffe the two of them stopped by an abandoned home just on the outskirts of the town. Verna was the first to open and walk inside the home with Morgan quietly following after her inside, closing the door behind the two of them and taking a look around the simplistic medieval building while Verna rummaged about.

"What are-" Morgan turned to look at Verna and just barely caught a bundle that was thrown their way.

They unraveled it and found that it was clothing "No offense to what you're wearing-" Verna momentarily eyed the foreign clothing that Morgan wore "-but I think it'd be best if you didn't stand out too much. Wouldn't want to catch unwanted attention"

Morgan nodded in agreement "I appreciate it, thank you." They said, looking up to see the woman give a polite smile that said 'you're welcome' before she turned away to give Morgan some privacy while she looked for a pair of boots.

There would've been nothing wrong with what Morgan currently wore; a black turtleneck that complimented their feminine curves, a fleece grey jacket with black clasps and a hood, dark navy blue jeans, simple black sneakers, and a silver pocket watch that dangled from a long chain around their neck. However this wasn't their world, this wasn't the city of Los Diablos, so even if their clothing was as plain as can be to them it would stick out like a sore thumb in this supposed medieval world of magic. Morgan quietly began to change out of their clothing, sparring a brief glance to their bare body before shaking their head and slipping on the new clothing.

As they changed they brushed their mind against Verna's thoughts once more to see what was going on in the mage's head, and as expected it was a flurry of questions and speculations. Even though she kept her composure the racing thoughts were still there;

' _ **What was that strange grey rift? It could've been caused by the Breach as well, but then how was it formed? Where did Morgan come from exactly? What is this strange feeling that's coming from them? Is it perhaps magic or something else?'**_

That last thought made Morgan freeze, could it be that she was sensing their telepathy? They didn't know how mages in this world worked exactly, so perhaps that shouldn't be too surprising. Still, it was information that was good to know and they relaxed their tense muscles, using this time to examine Verna as she came back with a pair of leather boots while they adjusted their red hair into a neater small ponytail.

"The clothing should help better stave off the cold than what you were wearing earlier. It tends to be quite frigid here." She said as Morgan gave a small smile.

"Thank you Verna, I really appreciate what you're doing, truly." Morgan took a brief second to search what was in Verna's hazel eyes.

A look of discomfort, feeling like her mind was completely exposed to the stranger before her for reasons unknown, a thought that also left small dashes of confusion in the mixture. Admittedly Morgan took a form of comfort in this as they took the well-insulated boots from the female mage "Don't mention it, pack your clothes in this." She handed Morgan a satchel "And lets get going."

Morgan did just that and once again the two continued their travel to Redcliffe. As they traveled Morgan relaxed their telepathic gifts so it merely simmered on the surface instead of reaching out and prodding nearby minds; normally they would only relax their powers around sensors, but since mages could potentially sense their powers too it would be for the best, even if they couldn't get a more detailed read on the minds of others. They noted how Verna relaxed a little at that.

After a while the two came up to a steel gate that had two guards posted as watch "You can open the gate, it's just us two." Verna said as she gestured to herself and Morgan.

The two gave a nod at that when they recognized Verna, prompting one of them to head over and begin raising the gates for them "Welcome back, Lady Trevelyan." One of the guards said in a polite manner.

"There's no need for such formalities, just Verna is fine." The woman smiled softly at the guard.

"Ah, right, sorry La- I mean Verna." He quickly said as he returned the smile and allowed the two to enter and turn left down the wide path.

Morgan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Verna, even though they already got the impression from the guard's mind: nobility "What was that about?" They asked in an inquiring tone.

"With the guard back there?" Verna rubbed the back of her neck "Well, it's no secret that I'm from the Trevelyan house of nobility. It was for a while, but word got out eventually and people started talking." She shrugged.

"You're of nobility? For a noble you're rather humble, no offense of course." Verna chuckled at that and waved it off as they walked down the steady slope.

"None taken, I known most nobles tend to act more privileged than what's fair." Her smile then wavered "I probably would've been like that too if I hadn't been sent to the Circle…" she trailed off on a sad note.

"The circle?" Morgan gently prodded, recognizing that this was a topic that needed to be approached with sensitivity.

Verna blinked and gave Morgan a surprised look that immediately faded away once she remembered that they weren't from this world "The Circles of Magi is where all mages go when their magic is discovered, at least those who have been found, those who aren't are called apostates. Not all Circles are the same, but some can be very… harsh towards their mages, which wasn't the case for mine where they tried to maintain neutral ground between mages and templars. I was meant to have a privileged and spoiled childhood until my magic surfaced when I was young, once that happened I was handed to the Ostwick Circle by my parents without a second thought. I knew that my family was loyal to the Chantry, but that didn't lessen the feeling of betrayal as they gave away their daughter to what was basically the equivalent to a prison. I may be of the Andrastian faith, but I don't hold my faith in the Chantry and how they treat mages. I would have been left to rot there for the rest of my life had the mages not rebelled." She let out a heavy breath as Morgan felt a sharp stab of empathy.

They couldn't stop their hand from reaching out and holding Verna's own, giving it a gentle squeeze and saying in a soft tone "Living like that can only make you stronger when you stand back up and fight."

Verna blinked and looked at Morgan in surprise as they flexed their telepathic gifts and reached towards the mage's mind, wrapping it in a silk veil of warmth. A gasp escaped her lips and her mind recoiled, but after a moment of assuring her mind she let herself relax into the veil, finding herself walking a little closer to Morgan who smiled a genuinely warm smile.

"Is that experience speaking?" Verna managed to ask, locking her hazel eyes with Morgan's own green ones.

"Somewhat, but that's a story best left to a later date." Morgan spoke in a quiet tone, and Verna nodded in understanding as the two turned right and stepped into the boundaries of Redcliffe.

Walking through the wooden archways Morgan was greeted with the sight of civilians working about in this section of the town. They and Verna briefly walked on a wooden pathway until it transitioned into dirt once more, all the while Morgan caught sight of a wooden building that sat beside a creek that powered the building's water wheel. Not too far from the building's crude fence gate was a large white, red, and orange banner fluttering in the breeze, portraying two lions facing each other set within a shield shape. They could spot a few more of these banners strewn about the town.

Stone braziers with dog head carvings stood tall and a few stone platforms raised other buildings and gave them stable ground to stand on. Walking further into the town the path split off into three parts; one continued forward on a gentle rising slope where a large griffin statue laid in the center of three wooden buildings that circled it, two of which Morgan suspected of being shops, and continued onwards.

To the left of that one was a path that sloped further downwards towards a small harbor that had a few boats docked. This path was much wider than the first, though that was no surprise as it was most likely for goods to be better moved about.

Between the second and third path was a small area where a few civilians hung around, a tall statue of a woman wrapped in a hooded robe held a metal hanging brazier in her hands that were raised skyward. The third path had a bridge with small stone pillars that had dog heads carved into them flanking either side of the entrance, but this wooden bridge looked to have broken and fallen into the creek long ago. That part of the town across the bridge looked to be sealed off, and Morgan could make out a few of the skeletons of destroyed buildings.

They then directed their attention across the river the creek flowed into, catching sight of a large and formidable castle in the distance.

"Welcome to Redcliffe." Verna said with a soft smile "Most, if not all the rebel mages, stay there in Redcliffe Castle." She pointed to the said structure.

"The king and queen granted us sanctuary here in Redcliffe and let us stay in the castle. Though I normally prefer to wander around and help about in Redcliffe. It's been too long since I've been apart of the outside world." Verna glanced down and noticed that the two were still holding hands.

She quickly pulled her hand away with a blush of embarrassment "Sorry about that, I didn't realize." She said sheepishly as Morgan waved it off.

"Don't worry yourself about it, it's absolutely fine." Verna gave a soft smile at that as the two took to the first path.

Going beyond the griffin statue, after Verna gave a brief explanation that it was in tribute to the Hero of Fereldan, the two went down the path that branched off to the right and approached a building that had a sign that said 'The Gull and Tavern' and entered it. Immediately Morgan was greeted with the sound of light chatter and the melodies of a lute, and looking off to the right side of the background they weren't surprised to see the typical features of a tavern. However Verna led Morgan to the left where they climbed up a flight of stairs. They turned to the right and walked down the short hallway where they entered the second room, Verna closed the door behind the two of them once they were inside.

"We should be fine here." Morgan raised an eyebrow at Verna.

"Why here?" They asked, crossing their arms over their chest and giving a curious tilt of their head.

"Well, if I'm being honest urgent curiosity demands I find out more about your powers." Verna started "No offense, but as soothing as it was earlier not knowing what it is puts me on edge."

"I can't blame you for feeling that way really, though I certainly wasn't expecting you to sense it. However it's good that I found out as soon as I did, it could help in the long run for however long I'll be here for." Verna gave them a look of confusion when Morgan went off on their own mindful ramblings near the end.

"I'm going off the assumption that I wasn't supposed to be able to sense it. What is it exactly? And what does it do?" Morgan sat down on the bed as Verna leaned against the small desk, placing her palms against the edge.

"It's called Telepathy back home, and where I come from people aren't normally able to sense it at all. This power comes directly from the mind and it's capable of reading and manipulating the minds of others. People with this power are called Telepaths, and the strongest level for a Telepath is Alpha level. Alpha level telepaths are capable of altering memories, possessing people, and a few other tricks."

"Posses people?" Verna seemed deeply disturbed by that detail "Are you an alpha level Telepath?" She asked cautiously as Morgan shook their head.

"No, I'm only Beta level, a step below Alpha level and so I can only read surface thoughts and delve into people's minds to, say, help them remember something. I can influence the mind somewhat but not to the extent of complete control, more so just simple nudges in a certain direction, a skill I used just as often as reading surface thoughts to gain an edge in battle."

"Ok." Verna relaxed a little at that "What do you mean by 'surface thoughts'? And if you can read my thoughts why do you let me ask these questions? Can you choose whose thoughts you can hear and block out the rest?" She crossed one arm across her chest and propped her elbow up on it, lightly pinching her chin between her thumb and finger in a pondering manner.

"Surface thoughts are just thoughts you're currently thinking about, a Telepath could also sense any prominent emotions too. I let you ask because I prefer to be polite, wouldn't it disturb or creep you out if you didn't know about my telepathy and I kept answering your questions before you asked them?"

Verna gave a pause at that and then a shrug "Alright, that does sound reasonable."

"My case exactly. And to answer your final question no, I hear everyone's thoughts whether I want to or not and I can't block them out. I can relax my powers so they're not as loud and I hear less, but they're still there, whispers within my head." Morgan noticed the look of sympathy on Verna's features and their insides couldn't help but squirm in discomfort, they weren't looking for sympathy nor were they used to such a look.

"Doesn't it become burdensome to hear everyone's thoughts all at once? No matter to what extent?" Morgan sighed at the question and rubbed the back of their head.

"It… depends on the kind of day I have. Other than that it's something that doesn't really bother me, and quite frankly the thought of not having telepathy is a little uncomfortable. Though I wouldn't mind a little silence on my more rougher days." Morgan gave a shrug at that and it fell silent between the two of them.

"Why don't we find you a place to stay? I don't think you'd want to rent a room here." Verna broke the silence and offered a friendly smile.

"That is preferable, I would like to have a place relatively to myself. I'm not too picky about luxury though." They said as they stood up.

Following Verna out the door Morgan couldn't help but poke around the mage's head. They weren't surprised to find the caring concern now lingering in Verna's thoughts and the want to get to know Morgan a little better. Admittedly the concern was… nice despite future complications, though that bit they only had them self to blame for. The kinship that Morgan started to associate with Verna was something they couldn't and didn't want to deny, and when Verna looked back at them and gave them another of her soft smiles Morgan couldn't help but return it slightly.

' _ **I want to know more about her.'**_ They subconsciously thought.


	3. Acquaintances

So, this is where I'll start introducing characters from the DA:I roster, so, um, Let me know how well I do with them and if they seem accurate to themselves in the game.

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Days had went by ever since Morgan had settled into Redcliffe and into a little home that they shared with Verna, an arrangement that they weren't complaining about. During those days Morgan and Verna got to learn a little more about each other and their worlds:

Morgan found that Verna had become the scandalous talk of her family for choosing to rebel and vouch for change, though a few family members did discreetly support her in her decision. The woman was softly spoken, kind and always willing to lend a hand wherever she could, though she primarily helped the elven healer that Redcliffe had in gathering herbs, bandaging, and providing healing magic. Her kindness and acceptance bordered on naivety, but it was her interaction with the demons and spirits within the Fade that kept her diligent. Verna had taught Morgan about the Fade and the magic that she wielded, and when she found that the telepath was actively blocking out the Fade out of distrust she gently encouraged them to lower their mental shields to allow the Fade inside their mind. It scared them for a moment, and had Verna not been there to walk them through it they would've threw up their mental shields and remain adamant about keeping the Fade locked out of their heads. Verna taught them about the history of Thedas, the landscapes, the societies and races, the organizations, and so on and so forth when the mage found how curious the telepath was about her world. It became a routine thing for Verna to reserve a certain portion of the day to teaching Morgan when she wasn't so busy.

Meanwhile Verna learned that Morgan came from a city known as Los Diablos in a country called America. They were told how originally the city was known as Los Angeles, the city of angels as it was, and that it was called Los Diablos after a particular year of destructive earthquakes, tsunamis, and even a volcanic eruption that could've been worse had the lava chambers filled completely, leaving the entire coastline in ruins. The year of hell it was called, and earlier attempts to restore it were delayed by aftershocks and a crashing economy, forcing politicians to focus on the heartland and the east where hunger riots became an everyday occurrence due to the falling ash and food rationing. It was only until the land was declared a free economic zone, with no taxes, no regulations and no federal government, that the coastline was eventually restored by the thousands who flocked to it. From there Morgan told Verna about their government system and about the advanced technology they had, though describing the tech was hard but nonetheless left Verna fascinated. The mage couldn't help but draw parallels to Thedas' advanced magic and Earth's advanced technology, and Morgan did have to agree that after a certain point technology and magic didn't seem so different from one another, just to how the results were achieved. They also told Verna about the iconic heroes and villains that inhabited the streets of every city, always battling it out as the heroes tried to thwart the plans of the villains and protect the innocents. They told them how these heroes and villains were called the Enhanced and that there were two kinds; the Mods who had cybernetics installed into their bodies, and Boosts who took a chemical known as the Hero Drug and were the 5% who lived and walked out with incredible powers.

Of course this information exchange was done in private, no use in catching unwanted attention from eavesdropping civilians who had no idea what Morgan was talking about.

Currently Verna was preparing to gather more herbs for the healer, she had offered Morgan to come along but the telepath kindly declined in favor of exploring RedCliffe a little more and due to the fact that they had yet to obtain a weapon that they could defend themself with. At least, they haven't obtained a weapon **yet**.

"Don't have too much fun while I'm away." Verna said in a light tone which caused Morgan to chuckle a little.

"I promise that I won't get into any trouble, mother." Morgan teased which earned them a playful shove from the mage as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

With a wave of goodbye Morgan watched Verna's departing figure until it disappeared from sight. With that Morgan began to wander about RedCliffe, allowing their telepathic gifts to search the minds of the people who milled about since there were no mages in this part of town just yet. It was something Morgan did whenever they got the chance, allowing them to find out more about what was currently happening and offering a good grounding exercise for them. Morgan had asked Verna about this 'Mage Rebellion' they had heard people talk about, but they had yet to ask her about this Inquisition that seemed to be growing each day. Verna was so used to everyone knowing that sometimes she would forget that Morgan wasn't from this world, not that it was something they could blame her for. Besides, they liked to dig up information themselves.

The organization peaked Morgan's interest, and if it had anything to do with that small dot of green faraway in the sky then it was certainly something worth knowing about. It was also a good opportunity to keep their telepathic skills sharp and to tamper around with the added benefit of the Fade, which seemed to lengthen Morgan's reach when it came to hearing the thoughts of others and allow better control. It made it a little easier to concentrate on certain thoughts in large crowds and it allowed them to hear whispers from longer distances.

From what they could gather it seemed like the Inquisition was doing what it could to try and restore some form of order during this time of utter chaos, of where green Rifts tore open and spat out demons left and right while mages and templars warred with each other. The iconic 'Herald of Andraste', who was a Dalish elf, had hunted down food and located clothing and blankets from apostate caches for the refugees, how he was able to wrangle down and take out the mage and templar camps to help make the roads safer, how he eradicated the crossroads from the constant fighting between the mages and templars, and so much more. They said he had stepped out of the Fade with Andraste herself leading him to safety, blessing him with a mark that could seal these rifts and save Thedas.

 _ **'Despite the holy providence crap, he could make an excellent hero back in Los Diablos.'**_ Morgan couldn't help but muse.

Just then they picked up a rather interesting surface thought: _**'Alexius can't possibly go through with this, how desperate can he be?'**_

Morgan's eyebrow quirked a little in interest, and they were about to focus more on this person's thoughts when new information forced them to swiftly relax their powers into dormancy: this individual was a mage.

They were swift to use the crowd as cover as their eyes scanned the area in which they caught the thought in. Their gaze landed on a hooded man who was discreetly searching the crowd as well, easy to lose him in the sea of refugees unless someone wasn't trying to look for him. Morgan couldn't help but tilt their head slightly in curiosity, who was this Alexius and what was he about to do? They looked away before the man could notice he had been spotted by them, putting up the act of pretending to be busy with something.

Pretending, something that came so easily to them.

Morgan dared to flex their telepathic gifts slightly, just enough to get an impression before retreating once again. Slight confusion, but that confusion was easily overpowered by curiosity for whatever it was he felt briefly. Their heart started to beat faster when they felt the familiarity of a pair of eyes being trained on them and the longer they stayed the more uneasy it became for them. They never liked being looked at directly for a fixed amount of time for certain reasons, reasons that would bring up old memories, and they didn't need to flex their abilities to know that the man's attention was on them. They closed their eyes and controlled their breathing as they carefully wove through the crowd, wanting to get to the shadows so they could hide but making sure to appear as if nothing was wrong, but that inadvertently reminded them of an unpleasant event that came rearing its head at the most inopportune time.

* * *

 _ **Breath held in trepidation, their body shaking as the aches and open wounds informed them that they were on their last legs. They crept through the darkness of the crumbling building complex, the light of the moon covered by the clouds above as they tried to locate their brother-like partner. They couldn't keep this up much longer, last they saw of him he was critically injured and Morgan was no different, where-**_

 _ **Scrambling of limbs alerted them and they had swiftly notched their arrow into their bow, holding it at the ready as their telepathy felt the brutal force of the singular gnarled mind that infected the halls, scrapping against their mental shields like spiders and constantly hacking away at it. With the brutal onslaught it was almost impossible to pinpoint where the queen was, where all of her offspring crawled. A hive mind of blood red static that pounded against their skull as they felt a pair of eyes trained on them, watching every movement they made but making no move to pounce just yet. Christ, if they had know they wouldn't have rushed in like the idiot they were.**_

 _ **They needed to hide, to stall, to do something at least! The shadows the only thing they knew yet even it now hid danger from them.**_

 _ **"Found you." That ungodly voice was breathed into their ear as they felt something similar to a foot slam into their back and pin them to the ground, knocking their weapon out of their hands.**_

 _ **Desperation chilled them to the bone alongside the twisted whispers and static red thoughts of this once human creature above them, of the twisted abominations that it spawned as they crawled about in hunger, looking for Joseph wherever he was. They squirmed and thrashed underneath, trying to reach the arrow that was just out of reach until something tore through their lower arm and slithered into their veins and muscles, causing them to cry out in pain just as a set of teeth sunk into their shoulder, tearing past the nanomesh and ripping out a chunk of flesh.**_

 _ **Mechanical toys rendered useless without the control, rendered out of reach and unavailable. They couldn't move, they couldn't do anything as feeling began to fade away from their limbs. Christ where the hell are they!? Hurry god damn it, hurry up before-!**_

* * *

Morgan barely silenced their sharp gasp as they stopped dead in their tracks, directing people's attention away from them who had taken notice of their sharp gasp and sudden stop, Christ be damned if that man noticed their powers. A secluded area, that was what they needed right now, and the first thing that came to mind was the small Chantry they had seen when Verna had taken Morgan to their momentary home. Once located they made sure no one was in the building before they walked inside and leaned against one of the pillars, trying to still their erratic breathing as they pushed back the memories. Their eyes screwed shut, trying to block out their distorting perception of reality that insisted they were there experiencing that moment while their mind curled up tightly into a ball, the sad truth of how influential emotions could be to a telepath making itself prominent.

Why was it so real? So prominent? Simple visions almost made into a past reality that they hated remembering. Was it the Fade? It had to be right? Nothing could make it seem so life-like, and they knew that it was never that bad before, only restricted to-

No, just calm down and breath, though intakes of oxygen in steady amounts can sooth it can only do so much. The darkness behind their eyelids only mocked them with shadows, silhouettes ready to come rearing their heads when they were at their most vulnerable, like wolves prowling around a campfire. That was then, that was seven years ago, you're here now, you're here in Thedas, you aren't back in the past, it won't plague you so badly if you will it away. Yes, just will it away, forget, lose those memories to the smoke that damaged their lungs so severely...

"I take it everything isn't all sunshine and rainbows with you?" Came a voice, causing Morgan to jump slightly in surprise and snap their eyes open.

There stood the man from earlier, hood down to reveal steel gray eyes and raven black hair set against finely tanned skin. His hair was combed up and back and the mustache he sported on his upper lip was very well groomed "Sorry for interrupting what I presume is unpleasant memories, though I bet a distraction from them would be better." He offered a small smile to which Morgan tilted their head at.

"I'm sure you have more important things to do than to attend to someone like me." They said bluntly as they quickly regained their composure, refusing to show any other form of weakness in front of him.

"Oh I do, but you just caught my sight in the crowd when I noticed something wrong. Isn't it only natural for someone to worry over the wellbeing of others?"

"Only if it's someone you have attachment to, and last I checked we don't know each other." They crossed their arms over their chest as the man faked being wounded by their words, placing a hand on his chest in a dramatic manner.

"Very distrusting towards strangers I see." he gave an exaggerated sigh "Alright, I will admit I found something rather interesting about you, thought I should investigate a little."

Well, he certainly didn't try and hide that.

"Might as well get it out in the open, no use in hiding it from you if you're going to be this suspicious of me." He said with a smirk and a small shrug, crossing his arms over his chest but in more of a casual manner than Morgan.

"Well, if that's your reason for seeking me out then you'd better be prepared for a long wait, I'm not about to say anything personal to you. Unless you want to make this into a game of cat and mouse." Came their offer, giving the man a small challenging look.

"The latter sounds very enticing I admit, makes things a little more fun and challenging. Will I get a clue? A little hint to make things easier?" He gave them a playful look.

"No." Came Morgan's simple response.

"Well you're no fun." He said sarcastically "If that's how it's going to be then perhaps you wouldn't mind me at least visiting you from time to time?" Morgan raised an eyebrow at him.

"Should I be worried about you stalking me?" The man snorted at that.

"Maker no, rest assured I'm not obsessed to the point that I'd go peeking through your window at night watching you sleep. Just expect a few friendly visits and conversations is all, perhaps here could be a sort of meeting place?"

Morgan scanned his eyes for a moment, searching for any other hidden agenda he could have aside from snooping around for their secrets. When they saw nothing, and they didn't want to risk reading his mind since they already gave enough away, they gave a simple shrug "I guess that would be fine by me." The man smiled at the response.

"Excellent, I look forward to meeting you again." He turned to leave until Morgan spoke up.

"Hang on." he stopped and glanced back at them "I didn't catch your name."

He gave Morgan a mischievous smirk "That's right, you didn't." he said and before they could question him he was gone.

"You little snake." Morgan said under their breath, but a small smile made its way onto their lips.

Alright, they'll let him have his way, they always did enjoy little games like this.

* * *

The day went by swiftly after that encounter with Morgan lending an occasional hand around RedCliffe, snooping around, and catching no sight from the man from earlier. Come evening they sat on their bed reading a history book in regards to the Blight, how these magisters had traveled physically into the Fade and tainted the Golden City and were punished by the Maker, or so one of the beliefs of how the Blights started goes. The rise of the Grey Wardens, the Archdemon that would command the hordes of darkspawn once it was corrupted, and so on and so forth. The more they read the more they unconsciously leaned closer to the book, engrossed into the text until they were snapped out of their thoughts by someone entering the home. They smiled as they saw Verna walk in and topple down onto her bed, exhaustion evident in her stature as she let a sigh pass through her lips.

"Tired I take it?" Morgan asked, closing the book and placing it down on the bed.

"Very much so." She sat up properly in bed and took out her ponytail "But it's worth it in the end. Oh, here, I got you something." She grabbed her bag and pulled it towards her, rummaging through it and bringing out a dagger in its sheath.

"I bought you some armor as well, it's back at the Smith's, and there's also a selection of weapons there that you can pick from to use as your primary. They're currently adding a few fine adjustments, the owner is expecting us to show up tomorrow to claim the armor and the primary weapon of your choice." She stated, smiling at Morgan who looked surprised at the revelation.

"Why did you do that for me? I'm not meaning to sound ungrateful, but you don't have to spend so much." Morgan then frowned as Verna shook her head.

"I know what it's like being cooped up in one place for a long while, and even though you insist you're fine here by yourself I imagine you would rather make better use of your time rather than snooping around. It's just a trait that I get from you." She said as Morgan stood up and walked over, sitting down beside her and gently taking the dagger in hand.

"Thank you, you've done so much for me. I'll make it up to you somehow." Because they always hated being in debt to someone, but with Verna they felt bad that she had done a lot for them for so little in return.

"No need, I just want you to come along with me whenever I head out. It would be a nice experience to see more of the Hinterlands than just RedCliffe and I doubt you would want to have to heavily rely on me to defend you." They gave a nod at that as they held the dagger close "It would also be nice to better know you and spend more time with you."

Morgan couldn't help but feel their throat constrict and their heart twist, so willing to do so much, and she barely even knew them. So similar to the people they knew, to the people who would've done the same as her, for nothing in return but friendship and better understanding of their character...

"Speaking of which-" She started as Morgan looked up at her with curiosity "-I have yet to ask, but where did you get your training? Even without weapons you seemed to defend yourself well when we first met."

They were a little surprise to hear the fond sigh that escaped their lips, more pleasant memories coming to surface now "I trained in mixed martial arts that could help in both a battlefield and in an everyday street brawl, I remember those days of rigorous training to strengthen my body." A small smile started to capture their lips "As for weapons I tried multiple to see what suited me and I found quite a few combinations that were quite to my liking. I trained with weapons from different ages for years, even during the time me and Joseph signed up on the Hero game." They couldn't stop the warm chuckle.

"Who's Joseph? And you really chose to become a hero? What was your Hero identity?" Verna asked in a soft tone, leaning a little closer out of habit.

"Joseph… he's a very dear friend of mine, I dare say that I think of him as an older brother, him being three years older than me. We've been through thick and thin together ever since we were children, and even though he can come off as distant, hard to get to, and calculating he can be a very caring guy, admittedly clingy too. Though I can say the same for myself." They shook their head softly "Where I excelled in martial prowess I also lacked the ability to work well with a larger team outside of Joseph, and even though I was keen on making some friends I primarily liked to go solo which got me into trouble more often than not. Joseph excelled as a tactician, but he couldn't work well strength wise outside of a team, yeah he's not too bad when it comes to hand-to-hand combat and he can hold himself relatively well, but against a highly skilled combatant he would be hooped. We could work well with each other, but our weaknesses were always better covered when we worked with more heroes who only knew me as Redact and Joseph as Sidestep." They paused briefly "Playing the hero… well, it's like being in the shoes of the Herald of Andraste, so many people are expecting you to save them, to protect them from any kind of threat and to appear as a paragon of justice and everything good in the world. Saying it's stressful is an understatement, but it was a responsibility we were all willing to shoulder." That's when their moment of fondness began to waver and die and their smile began to slowly drop.

Morgan had the dagger resting on their right leg, held in a soft grip that began to tighten as they clenched their jaw. They couldn't stop their gaze from travelling down, and they couldn't prevent their hand from beginning to lightly shake "We met and fought alongside so many good people, many who were passionate about what they were doing despite what happened in the end..." they said more quietly.

They then felt Verna carefully remove the dagger out of their hand, placing it on the bed and holding the same hand in a soft grip "I didn't mean to bring up any unwanted memories." Morgan shook their head as they placed their other hand on top of hers.

"It's alright Verna, you didn't know." They tried to offer a reassuring smile, but they believe to have failed when the worry in Verna's gaze deepened.

"We should get some sleep, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow." Morgan quickly changed the subject.

"Are you sure you'll be able to sleep tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Came their brief response.

Verna looked at them, lips parting to begin to protest, but then she closed them and merely nodded. Before Morgan could stand and extinguish the candle light Verna pulled them into a tight hug, something that the telepath wasn't expecting and brought another flurry of memories. After a moment Morgan returned the hug and the two stayed like that for a while, but like everything it had to come to an end. They parted, said their goodnights, and Morgan put out the flickering flames as Verna crawled underneath the sheets of her bed.

Morgan looked to their own in the dark and heaved a sigh, moving towards the bed that they didn't want to crawl into now that their mind was stirred.

Well, time to take a trip down memory lane.

* * *

 ** _She shifted in her sleep, murmuring under her breath and moving her head from side to side. No, something wasn't right with these dreams, it should be the Fade but... this was not the Fade, where was she? Hard to tell, vision blurred and pressure on the skull caused by fingernails trying to make their way inside. Sheets constrict her frame like a straight jacket, covering her head and making it difficult to breath while in her dreams the experience was different._**

 ** _Hands desperately claw at her frame, blackened and gnarled beyond human recognition "Help us... please... you can..." came the shriveled voices and she could only rapidly shake her head as she tried to get away._**

 ** _Not demons, no spirits she had ever met before, making their way to her with such ease that it terrified her. To invade so thoroughly and without being detected... but here they were and they were dragging her down "St... no..." Her voice wouldn't cooperate with her, and her lips sealed shut when the hands crawled to her throat and chin, soon trying to pry her mouth open._**

 ** _"Let us in... let us in... we can make them pay... let go... we won't hurt you..." Those last words were hard to believe, but the hands kept restricting and she was running out of time._**

 ** _Feeling lost in half her body, sinking slowly into the sea of tar that swallowed her like a serpent. Magic floods to her hands and with a burst of explosive flame everything is momentarily illuminated; screams made her ears throb with pain, but the twisted forms of what was once human entered her sight, and she saw the emaciated forms, the sickly faces that lacked eyes, seemingly gouged out in favor for the puddles of black that lingered inside and spilled over like tears. They clutched at their faces and scrambled away from the fire, allowing her enough time to-_**

* * *

Verna lets out a strangled gasp and for a moment she panicked as she struggled with the streets that confined her. Once free she shot up, erratic breathing in tune with her wildly beating heart. Maker, what... was that? What **were** those things? First people from foreign lands being dropped into Thedas and now this? She let out a shaky sigh as she rubbed her face with her hands. She had been contemplating it for a while now, but perhaps it would be best to go lend her assistance to the Inquisition. Maybe then she could find answers to what was going on and she could send Morgan back home...

The thought of them made her glance over at the person laying in the other bed. Morgan never really specified whether they were a woman now that she thought about it, they certainly appeared to be female, yet their voice wasn't exactly... feminine was a way to put it, neither masculine either. The change of thought allowed the mage to relax a little more, allowing her mind to take her away from the memory of that experience momentarily. Perhaps she could ask in the morning, but how could she ask such a thing without coming off as rude? Well, she could think of the details when the morning sun arose.

For now she lacked the ability to fall asleep and she decided to stand and make her way towards Morgan's slumbering form. At first it was an unconscious thought, but as she drew closer she could see the way they shifted around in their sleep, were they also experiencing a nightmare? The thought made Verna frown as she kept her footfalls as silent as possible as to not awaken their new-found friend. It had been a few days since she had met Morgan, and despite how intimidating she was at the beginning she really did become softer as they spent time together. A little protective sure, but it was that small hint in her eyes that made her pause and wonder; it was a look that spoke of the fear of losing her.

Why was that? They were just getting to know each other after all, and yet she felt closer than what would be normal for first time meetings. Not to mention that look of fear, however brief it would be, always looked to run deeper than Morgan would let on.

She sat down on Morgan's bedside, and despite how dark it was she could still make out the tense features on their face. She let out a soft breath and she gently reached out to gently comb her fingers through Morgan's deep red locks, gliding her hand through every strand before moving to gently stroke their cheek with her thumb. The small act seemed to help somewhat as her friend's body relaxed a little, letting out a quiet sigh before she carefully pulled her hand away. However her wrist was caught in a slightly tight grip, but Morgan's vibrant green eyes remained closed "Don't go..." they whispered.

The mage then found herself being pulled down and held close. Well, it looked like she was sleeping with Morgan tonight. She couldn't move without disturbing them, so she chose to stay there and look up at their features. She was primarily thinking of these things out of curiosity, but she noted how flat Morgan's chest felt, similar to a man's own and their arms looked quite strong, hinting at someone who stayed well in shape, yet not exactly feminine. Their shoulders were also more broader as well.

She lightly shook her head and closed her eyes shut, allowing her arms to loosely wrap around Morgan's frame as she tried to let sleep overtake her again. For now she needed to lay her buzzing questions to rest and save her energy for thinking through them later, if she could find the answers to some of them.


	4. Dreams and Oddities

_**A breath taken, the rise and fall of the lungs as the body floats in serene dreams woven by the mind. The still water ripples, once crystal clearly slowly taints to black with green tendrils, vibrant to nearing the point of blinding, swirling in agitation. Green curls against black, slowly then erupting into a storm with the body at the eye of it all, breathing becoming harder and harder. The black slithers on to the skin, clawing at it and trying to pull it down. Lips part to scream but a sound won't come out, body twists and turns but limbs are restricted as it's pulled into the depths. Hands reach out, grabs onto the other, pulls as they whisper in the ear:**_

" _ **Wake up!"**_

The elven man bolts upright in bed, breathing coming out in erratic pants as his violet eyes scan his surroundings. For a moment his heart quickens when he notices his movements restricted, but he lets out a shaky breath when he finds it's only the blankets that had constricted him. He untangles his pale body from the knot of sheets and places his bare feet onto the cold ground, sending a shiver up his limbs and torso that helps to further awaken him, that helps solidify the fact that he is back in the waking world and not in that recurring dream that he seemed to find himself in.

For a moment he sits there, closing his eyes briefly to gather his agitated thoughts while he runs a lithe hand through his long, raven black hair that cascades down his shoulders. Once certain that his mind is centered and his body reacts the way he wants it to he stands and begins to change into his gear and readies his equipment, preparing for the journey ahead. He could never tell who was who in that dream, whether that was him floating in those crystal clear waters or he was the one pulling the person out of the storm, it was like a dream you saw vividly in your slumber, and yet when you awaken you can barely remember the details of it.

He looked down at his marked hand, the deep and jagged green scar running in a diagonal line in the center of his palm, turning veins and skin a tinted green that grew slightly more vibrant as time passed. He clenched his hand to calm the magic as best as he could, whatever these dreams were they seemed to have some kind of effect on the mark, a detail he let Solas know about along with Leliana. The Spymatser could provide no answer aside from the confirmation that her spies will keep a look out for any strange arcane phenomenon, and when Solas tried to follow after him in the Fade the apostate would be repelled by a strong and unknown force. If he wanted to know more about… whatever it was, he would have to, at the very least, figure out who the other party was.

Easier said than done when the dreams would end so abruptly when he didn't want them to.

He let out a sigh as he finished tying his hair into a short braid, pulled his leather coat over his frame, and slung his bag over his shoulder as the tail of his coat lightly brushed against the back of his knees when he left his small home. He was up earlier than usual, something that was starting to become common as these odd dreams visited him, and so he made his way to the stables as the sun continued on with her daily ritual of waking everyone up with her warm rays while her sibling the moon laid their head to rest. He made his way to the stables where the horses were kept and smiled softly when he saw the Dalish All-Bred trotting about, reaching out and gently running a hand down its snout in greeting. The said horse gave a snort and eagerly leaned into the Dalish's hand, making it apparent that the animal felt close with him.

The sounds of people waking up and shuffling about were distant on the elf's ears as they allowed their horse to graze not too far from the small settlement of Haven, his mind trying to grasp onto the dream of that night, but always coming up empty handed in the end. He let it go, there was no use in letting his mind travel down the road of frustration of trying to remember something that only wanted to evade him. Eventually he began to walk his horse back as he spotted Solas, Cassandra, and Varric grabbing their respective mounts, the said group looked up upon hearing his arrival.

"Was it that dream again?" Solas asked, his features remaining curious and indifferent as always.

"It might as well be a common occurrence now, and I'm nowhere close to figuring out who the other figure is." He lightly frowned at that as Varric gave him a small look of worry along with Cassandra.

"Are you sure you are fit to travel Herald?" Cassandra asked as he nodded and gave the small group a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, let's not delay and get going. Wouldn't want to keep Iron Bull and his Chargers waiting." He said to which the group complied and got up onto their mounts, following the elf as he led the way, like always, to the Storm Coast.

* * *

During the travel Solas had asked the standard question:

"Do you remember anything new with this recent dream?"

"Nothing more than what I initially remember."

Brief and short, that was what he was expecting it to be until the topic diverged into something new, something that Solas had seemed to witness:

"Though you might not remember anything more I have seen something new develop." He looked to Solas while Cassandra and Varric glanced at the apostate.

"Where it would constantly send me off without catching a glimpse it has recently allowed me to see the borders of a misty cocoon-like shape. It still prevents me from entering, but I can vaguely see what draws you inside, and it is a spirit I had never encountered before in all of my travels. I highly doubt anyone has ever seen the likes of it before, none of the spirits I consulted knew what they were."

This had the elf's full attention "And what did the spirits have to say about this?"

Solas merely shook his head "They couldn't provide much, they could only make out silhouettes inside and that they are repelled by the barrier and forcibly kept out like me. Some could feel great turmoil inside, and that every time you awaken you seem to soothe it, if just by a fraction. A fascinating phenomenon." He quietly said the last part as he shook shook his head.

"This shit just keeps getting weirder and weirder with you Cub." Varric nodded at the elf who sighed lightly at that.

"Is the Herald's life at risk? Should we be worried that something is trying to possess him?" Cassandra asked as Solas shook his head.

"No, it seems that whatever it is has no intent on possessing him, it would have done so by now. It seems like it merely wishes an audience with him, somehow having the mark double as a lure and a key to allow him inside its domain. For what reason we have yet to know." This made the Seeker's frown deepen as she nodded.

* * *

Eventually, after a day's worth of travelling by horseback, the three set up camp and Varric set about making dinner. As the group settled down into their camp the elf took a stroll through the sparse forestry, taking a deep breath as he let the cool winds curl around his lithe form.

' _ **Where did this spirit come from? And why does it want only me? Why doesn't it keep me out like the rest?'**_

Were the first thoughts that entered his mind, and after receiving a bit more information from Solas it made him more curious and wanting to meet them, to know more about them. He let out a soft breath as he shut his eyes, just for the briefest of moments…

 _ **Air twisting, curling, wrapping around him like a blanket. Solid ground begins to soften and destabilize him, his vision behind his eyelids distorts to a land of mist and silhouettes. A figure stands before him, a memory made clear, or... were they standing? Were they sitting? Laying down? It was hard to tell, certain pieces hazy still. Lips part to speak;**_

" _ **Who are you?" But the words never come out, only the motion of his lips can be felt.**_

 _ **The figure twitches, how they knew was unclear, or were they the only one who could hear? The thought was fleeting as eyelids slid open, revealing vibrant lime green eyes beneath that bore into his own violet ones.**_

He breathed a sharp breath as he reflexively took a step back, his eyes snapping open as he briefly saw the outline of the figure, their lime green eyes seen briefly before the image faded away from reality. It took him a moment to find his footing, suddenly not used to the feeling of solid ground underneath him again, and his disoriented senses took longer to register the world they painted before him. Those lime green eyes remain imprinted on his retinas, digging and sinking into his mind so he wouldn't forget them now that it gave him the briefest glimpse as to what he assumed happened in one of the dreams. With this new information in mind he made his way back to camp and eventually retired for the evening.

* * *

After that brief shift in reality Thalasan was able to remember a little more of the dreams, of walking into the mist cocoon and seeing a hazy silhouette of what he assumed to be the spirit, of something stirring the waters and slithering out when he came in a certain distance. Though those images only came in brief flashes of memory and nothing more. Aside from his odd dreams nothing new was reported, Leliana's spies saw nothing and Solas couldn't pick up any traces of anything else foreign, so the only goal they had was trying to communicate and get through to this new spirit so they could, at the very least, understand what its purpose was and where it came from.

Days had went by ever since they left Haven for the Storm Coast, and those days were primarily uneventful aside from a few odd flares from the mark that they kept a close eye on. The same went for when he officially met with Iron Bull after killing the Tevinters who were there, accepting the help from the Chargers and threatening Bull not to send anything that Leliana didn't approve of once it was revealed that Bull was a Ben-Hassrath spy, a threat that didn't seem to faze the Qunari all that much. He stayed with Thalasan and his small group while he sent his Chargers off back to Haven, saying that he'll catch up with them once their tasks in the Storm Coast were resolved.

It was only when they started to search for the Inquisition soldiers that had yet to report back that they found something… out of this world was a way to put it. The sea air filled their lungs as they trekked up the rocky hill where the soldiers were last spotted, the faint sounds of battle began reaching their ears and they pulled out their weapons once they were at the top. They were greeted with the supposed bandits that the soldiers ran into, fighting off a tall and sleek figure that looked nothing like anyone had ever seen.

Their body was fully clad in some type of... armour? Aside from the typical pieces of armour it looked form-fitting, flexible and very maneuverable, qualities that no armour clad warrior had, and even then the design of these pieces were bizarre. The legs weren't shaped as normal, perhaps the upper leg looked relatively normal but then it transitioned into the lower half of a hooved animal, granting them a taller appearance that matched Bull for height and a longer stride. The gauntlets formed claw-like blades at the end of the figure's hands, allowing them to slash through leather armour like it was paper and create deep gouges in metal, while the elbows had small blade-like protrusions. The helmet was what primarily drew the eye with it's reptilian design, the snout was short with five ridges rippling across the smooth surface of the upper face; one of the ridges ran up the centre, two ran along the jawline, and another two ran in between the center and jawline. The ridges jutted out to create a spike-like crest, the center being the longest and proceeding to grow smaller as it reached the jawline. Another notable feature was the incredibly long tail that would whip around and catch any unsuspecting enemy off guard, sometimes forming a claw-like appendage on the end that would latch onto them and throw them aside or the tail would simply batter them. The tail itself was thick at the base and proceeded to grow thinner near the end, and the length of it granted the figure a longer reach with it.

"What in Andraste's name is that?" Varric mumbled wide eyed as Cassandra and Bull tightened the grip on their weapons.

"Whatever it is its focus isn't on us for now." Cassandra said and with that the group joined the fray of battle.

The figure was momentarily surprised, but made no move to attack them, in fact it actually started to help them instead. It wove from opponent to opponent with the grace of an assassin despite their height, either getting Mabari or close range fighters off Solas and Varric's backs or taking out pesky arches and long range fighters that would bother the group. It was only when the fighting had stopped that their attention turned to the figure before them, still wary of them as they kept their weapons drawn but not pointed at them. Again the figure made no move to harm them, only raising their hands in a peaceful gesture to get across that they didn't mean any harm to the group.

"As much as I would love to stay and chat with you all-" They started, their voice distorted with mechanical grinding sounds that only raised the group's guard even further "-I have more pressing matters to attend to."

"And what might those matters be exactly?" Solas inquired as the figure glanced at him.

"Saving the lives of those soldiers in there before they bleed to death." They nodded at the two small, weather beaten cottages and the group was swift to look over.

Sure enough they spotted wounded soldiers hidden within, the Inquisition soldiers they were looking for, though there were many who laid dead on the wooden floor "I unfortunately came here too late and found most of them dead. I did what I could to protect the survivors." The figure said as the group was swift to give aid to the wounded survivors.

Solas had already set to work on the injuries, stitching them together with magic as Thalasan and the others did what they could to dress the wounds with the supplies they had. The figure joined alongside the effort, pulling out an odd looking bag and opening it to take out bandaging, a cloth, and a strange looking bottle. Whatever liquid was inside the bottle the figure soaked a small portion of it into the cloth and proceeded to clean the injuries before bandaging them, earning a momentary hiss of pain from the soldiers before they relaxed. Once certain that the soldiers wouldn't die Thalasan looked around the ruined home and spotted a few pages of text and a map, heading up to them to investigate before informing the others as to what they said.

"It seems like the group who attacked our Soldiers are called the Blades of Hessarian, and they're camped not too far from here. There's an amulet we can obtain to challenge their leader." Cassandra frowned deeply at the Information.

"The Blade of Hessarian is supposed to represent peace, not random slaughter." Came her bitter tone as the figure shook their head.

"Doesn't seem that way with this group." They commented.

Afterwards they set out to escort the injured soldiers so that nothing else would attack them and ensure they got to the main camp safely, all the while the figure gained certain looks from the Herald's group. Thalasan was the first of them to speak:

"Who are you? And what are you exactly?" Came his questions.

The figure looked at him briefly before moving their hands towards their helmet. A few clicks and clacks could be heard coming from the helmet as they grabbed onto it and pulled it off their head, revealing a woman with tanned skin, dark brown hair styled into a sleek bob that was long in the front and short in the back, and golden brown eyes "My name is Enola." She started "And would you believe me if I said I was human?" She offered a half smile as the group gave her an incredulous look.

"Your looks don't exactly scream human to us." Varric said, gesturing to her body.

He received a sigh from her as she rubbed the back of her neck, careful as to not cut the skin with the blades on the gauntlets "That's a very long story that would be better off shared on a later date. For now just know that what you see here-" She gestured to her armored legs, arms, and tail "-are all mechanical, machinery installed to enhance my performance on the battlefield and my physical capabilities."

"All of those are machines?" Solas said with peaked curiosity "Crafted into your body?"

"That's right, I'm practically half machine with how much that's been incorporated in my body. Back home many would call people like me Mods."

"Where do you come from exactly?" Cassandra asked, and the location they were given by her was nothing they had heard before, something that they had started to expect.

"I come from the country of America, in a large city known as Los Diablos. Though I highly doubt any of you had heard it before seeing as I'm not entirely from this world."

What else was happening that they all couldn't see?


	5. Learning

Just a heads up, but I will be changing things around in earlier chapters as my mind goes through different ideas and finalizes certain ones.

* * *

Was it a mistake on her part to reveal herself so early? She didn't believe so, to let those soldiers be killed in such a manner wasn't something she was going to stand for, even if she didn't save them all. They may be soldiers but they still deserved a chance to live, besides she would require assistance eventually in figuring out where she was and what was going on, even if she could hide her appearance. The wary looks from the ones who helped her deal with those Blades of Hessarian wasn't something that bothered her, not anymore.

Well, all except for this 'Herald' who she suspected to be an elf due to the pointed ears, lithe frame, and youthful appearance, though she wasn't going to ask him that out loud since the mythology she knew of elves back home and elves here were more than likely drastically different. He introduced himself as Thalasan Lavellan and the bald one, who introduced himself to be Solas, proved to be very curious and keen on asking her questions. Thalasan had his curiosity as well, and the two primarily asked about her world and about her cybernetics, to which she answered that her cybernetics were experimental and that it had taken a few tries to perfect them and even longer to get used to them. Her tail lent stability which better helped with her balance, the synthetic skin beneath the armor better protected the limbs from weather damage, and a total of four power cells had been installed into her body to give her the power needed for her enhanced speed and strength, though only one feature could be used at a time and at a certain capacity in order to conserve power. She informed them that these were just some of the advance pieces technology that her world had invented, and that there were many more made for multiple different purposes.

"Were you some kind of enhanced soldier back home?" The one who was introduced earlier as Cassandra spoke, looking at her with a raised eyebrow "These 'cybernetics' you speak of sound like they weren't just made for anyone."

"I was, served a long time in the U.S. Army of Special Forces whose roles included unconventional warfare to name one. I volunteered to test these out after a particular battle left me severely crippled, and those who worked on these cybernetics covered the money that would've been needed to maintain them. A large selection of soldiers are normally given these enhancements according to their roles in the military."

"'Was'? And what's with this 'Army of Special Forces'?" Varric inquired.

"I eventually left, plain and simple. The Special Forces are just one of the few branches of military in the US that specializes in a certain field of battle and strategy." She shrugged at that.

"They just let you leave like that with those? And if they covered the cost how are you managing it now?" Bull said in a skeptical manner, gesturing to her cybernetics to which she shook her head.

"Again, that's a story best left to a later date." She crossed her arms over her chest, not wanting to get into the details of her leave.

It was the Herald who chose to change the subject to something else "Do you know what it was that brought you here?" He asked to which Enola lightly frowned, though was still glad for the shift in the conversation from herself.

"I don't have any specific details, all I remember is this sort of grey rift appearing seemingly out of nowhere. I didn't have enough time to react when I was pulled through, and the next thing I knew I was here." The group didn't seem pleased by the answer.

"Has anything else appeared besides me? Or am I the first one?" She asked to which Solas and Thalasan shared a look between each other.

"It appears some kind of spirit we suspect that came from your world is here, dwelling in the Fade. I could only see a silhouette of it hidden in mist so I can't accurately describe its appearance, only that it matched you and Bull for height and that it was a spirit never encountered before in our world." Enola gave a nod at that.

"A spirit… I could help in identifying what it is if that's what you're having trouble with. If it's bothering you then I feel obligated to lend my assistance." They all gave her a look.

"What do you want in exchange?" Bull gave a slight tilt of his head.

"Nothing, aside from a place to stay for the time being until I can get back home, and perhaps maybe some assistance in finding my way back or to at least figure out what's going on. None of this bodes well, though I doubt anyone would have to point that out."

"You're not wrong about that." Varric commented.

"You hardly know us and yet you are willing to help?" Cassandra was, to no surprise, a little skeptical about her sudden want to help.

"I may not know much about you, but I have a feeling that you aren't a bad lot, and my instincts rarely lie to me. If you'd feel more comfortable with me under surveillance then I won't complain." Her eyes locked with the Herald who searched her with a sharp look, a look that spoke of experience when spotting danger and lies. She only gave him honesty in her gaze and he gave a small nod "Alright, but we will keep an eye on you at the very least."

"Are you so sure Herald?" Cassandra asked in uncertainty as Varric gave a shrug.

"Hey, I trust Cub's judgement, if he'll take her word for it then she's good in my book. Maker knows we've seen a lot of crazy shit, it helps when someone knows what it is at least."

"Then it's settled." She said with a small smile "I promise you that I won't cause you any more problems than you already have." She held her mechanical hand out for a shake, to which Thalasan accepted and the agreement was solidified.

* * *

The rest of the day they spent getting whatever that was needed done, which primarily centered around taking down the Blade of Hessarian's leader and gaining their loyalty, sealing a few of the rifts in the area, locating small pieces of evidence of recent Grey Warden activity, and so on and so forth. By sunset they had a good portion of what they came there accomplished, it would still take much more time to get things done, but for now they set up camp and had their dinner. When nightfall came Cassandra, Bull, and Varric retired for the night, leaving only Thalasan and Enola in the crisp sea air of the evening to stand lookout.

When not in her combat armor Enola wore a simple grey tank top with faded shorts and a necklace with a green malachite gemstone cut cleanly and encased in an intricately designed silver wire with a small crow's feather dangling at the bottom. Her limbs, as she had explained earlier, were protected by synthetic skin from the weather, the skin appearing smooth and black as night before fading into her skin tone at the stumps. They also provided her body with a warming and cooling system to help her better withstand colder or hotter climates.

"You're not tired?" Thalasan kept his eyes down on the reports he was currently looking over, information gathered from what the Inquisition forces could get so far.

"I could ask the same of you. You're the one doing a lot of the work, yet you agree to stand guard instead of rest." She said as she sat by the fire, looking up at the night sky and gazing at the stars above.

"Fair enough, I'll admit that I'm not feeling tired quite yet." Came his reply as he heard shuffling and then soft footsteps.

"Are those reports? Who are they from?" She tilted her head slightly as Thalasan pulled them out of her eye sight.

"From the Inquisition. Sadly they're for my eyes only, no offense of course." Enola chuckled slightly at that and shook her head.

"None taken, I understand the procedures. So, what is this Inquisition all about? And where do you stand in it all? I take it that you're in a high position, considering what that can do." She nodded down at the mark that softly glowed beneath his glove, still bright enough to be faintly seen through the material.

"Well, as you saw earlier this day we're trying to seal these rifts, but the Inquisition's primary goal is to seal the Breach-" He gestured to the faint green glow in the sky, shinning so vibrantly that anyone from miles away could see it "-which happened during the Mage Rebellion; mages uprising and fighting back against that which wrongly oppressed them. Getting into the exact details would take up the rest of this night, but the event that primarily sparked this war was when an apostate by the name of Anders had destroyed the Chantry in the city of Kirkwall. Everything went downhill after that, when word got out about what happened in Kirkwall and how the Templars attempted to exterminate an entire Circle for the actions of one apostate many Circles began to rebel. Fighting broke out and tensions reached a breaking point, Divine Justinia called for a meeting at the Conclave between mages and Templars to make peace between the two and come to an agreement, and I was sent there by my clan to listen in on the peace talking and deliver the news to them. That's when the explosion happened, killing everyone there, and the Breach came to be. I was the only survivor and Inquisition soldiers found me stumbling out of a rift with this mark on my hand." He opened his marked palm to Enola "And ever since then I've been helping them."

Enola gave a small whistle at that "Well, that's one hell of a bumpy ride. How did you survive the blast exactly? If it killed everyone but not you. Could it have been the mark that saved you?" The elf shook his head at that.

"I don't know, everything after the explosion is a blur, I don't remember anything that happened between that time frame." He admitted that much, though deep down he was suspicious as to why that was. For the enemy it was too convenient.

Enola gave a simple nod at that and decided to change the subject "This clan you mentioned, do… you ever wish to head back to them? If things hadn't turned out the way they did?" That's when Thalasan paused for a moment before giving a reply.

"Sometimes, but someone has to stop this since no one besides the Inquisition is actively trying to contain the Breach, and seeing how I hold the key I'm involved in this whether I want to be or not. I will be honest, I would've stayed to help regardless, someone has to step up, and if it has to be me then so be it." It went quiet between the two of them before Enola spoke once more.

"You sounded like any true hero back home." Thalasan glanced up at her, raising his eyebrow in a questioning manner.

"Oh? And what are these heroes back home like?"

"They're good people, some of them anyways, you will get the ones who do it for the fame and glory. But for those few they're like the Inquisition; they're willing to fight for order and peace, they'll take on whatever threat that they may face, no matter how large it may be and no matter the odds." A small smile began to spread onto her lips "I've met a few in the past, real good people they were, even when they're life was constantly on the line for people who relied on them too much for help."

"Is that bias speaking at the end there?"

"Perhaps. There's the good and the bad back home, but I find that the people are just too content and dependant on their heroes, they can't always be there for them for their every beck and call, and even heroes have their breaking points. For those who do it for the fame I find them too… stagnant, never really pushing themselves that much if they have the attention they wanted. You will get those who do make an honest effort, but still."

Thalasan gave a small shrug at that "Well let's face it, many people only know how to take instead of give, many can be very ill considerate of how the other feels and glory hounds have no idea of the risk or sacrifices that are needed."

"Now is that your bias speaking?"

"Perhaps." He said in a slight teasing tone to which Enola rolled her eyes at in amusement.

He decided to change the topic "What kind of races do you have back home? How do they live? We've primarily been asking you about this 'technology' you have, so I'm a bit curious." It was an innocent and honest question.

She rubbed the back of her neck, something he noticed she did often, a habit of hers perhaps "Ah, now that's also a topic that could keep us up all night if we went into every single detail, but there's only just us humans back home."

"Only humans?" Thalasan said a little surprise, admittedly he was expecting races he had never heard before, not just humans.

"Yeah, but even if we are all human we certainly don't live the same. I'll use my mother as an example; her people are known as the First Nations, or the Aboriginal people and they inhabited the lands of America before any of its modern day settlers came and 'civilized' the lands. When nature and the wilderness dominated, the First Nations lived alongside nature and always respected it deeply, adapting to it instead of forcing change on it. When the settlers came overseas things weren't too bad, they respected her people and the knowledge they had of the lands, working alongside them to discover more of the territory that was unknown to them, and the two sides learned much from each other. But when more came around however they started to take their land, demolishing their homes and trying to force them into submission, the respect from earlier years slowly vanishing. Many of them wouldn't have it, and many smaller tribes were killed in the years to come. As time progressed treatment did start to become a little better inch by inch, but the damage done in the past still resonates with the older generation and affects their way of life along with their children. Institutions known as Residential Schools are a primary example that's commonly given in which my mother's grandmother had experienced, her grandmother only having told us that both her and her brother had experienced horrible treatment and nothing more, it was a sensitive subject that she didn't want to recall. My mother had told me that the experience made it difficult for her mother to raise her, and that from time-to-time she did get hurt, though she along with her father still did their best to help her mother through it."

Enola rubbed the back of her neck "As a result my mother felt very strongly against the 'white men' as she put it, and if not for our father and his more hopeful outlook we probably would've had a more similar mindset like our mother. However it still rubbed off on us; when we were young we still felt great distrust towards them and it was when I joined the Special Forces that the sentiment began to dull and got me and my mother into a few arguments before. Dyani, from her life experience, just lacks trusts in other people in general."

The pang of empathy was there when he heard those details "Sounds a little like the Dalish." He couldn't help but comment as Enola looked to him.

Her next question was in a tender tone, making it clear that she didn't want to pry for bad memories "What is it like for the Dalish here?"

"Where do I even begin?" He said to himself, the reports long since forgotten "If I'm to be blunt we elves, no matter the origins, get the ass end of everything here in Thedas. For the Dalish we adapted a nomadic life out of the need for survival, but before all that elves were the dominant race in the very beginning of Thedas. But after the fall of Arlathan, our greatest city, everything… fell apart. Defeated and plundered by the Tevinter Emperium, those who lived were subjected to generations of slavery which further fractured our culture. When we were freed we tried to rebuild in the land that was given to us known as The Dales, but after three centuries the elves fell to the Exalted Marches of the Chantry when we refused to submit to the ways of the Andrastian faith. From there elves split into two; the City Elves and the Dalish Elves. Today the Dalish strive to keep what's left of our culture alive and we refuse to submit, while city elves live in alienages of human cities and adopt the human culture, though some still practice the elven culture in secrecy." He ended off in silence that grew between the two of them until Enola spoke once more.

"Perhaps when we aren't so busy with everything and we can find the time, we could share to one another about the history and culture of our people?" Thalasan smiled a little at that and nodded.

"I would be delighted to, it has been a while since I've last spoken about the Dalish and it would be nice to share to someone who's willing to listen." Enola gave a soft smile at that.

"I can't wait for next time then. Now, if you'll excuse me I better get some rest." She stood up and made her way to the tent that she was sharing with Cassandra, pausing for a moment before turning back towards Thalasan and saying "Don't run yourself into the ground, alright? Even heroes like you need rest."

With that she disappeared into the tent, leaving Thalasan be with his work, a stirred mind, and a softer smile on his features.

* * *

They stayed there at the Storm Coast for a few more days until the group started to make their way back to Haven with their two new companions in tow, both of whom were quite skilled in gaining the trust of the others through their honest words. Though there were a few things Enola wasn't so willing to share in regards to certain events in her past life when prodded, events that she indicated herself were "Too much of a sore spot to share with them so early." In her words, and the certain tinge in her tone was more than enough to respect her wishes.

"I've noticed how you seem to be capable of altering the energy from the Fade, what is your magic like? What kind of Spirits does your world have? What is their place of habitants called?" Solas asked with an expectant look in his eyes.

"Well, the magic in our world isn't as flashy as yours and not as prominent as you all can tell. It's more subtle, hidden you could say unless you actively looked for it and see beyond the rituals that may be considered nothing more than superstition, though many still believe it doesn't exist and magic's just apart of made up stories. It all really depends on who you ask. In regards to spirits my knowledge is more limited, I've only learned about them through my younger sister who dabbles more in that area than I."

Cassandra was the next to ask "In what way is your magic used? And even if it is more subtle to the point of being unseen and leads many to not believe in it, are there regulations put into place to keep it in check?"

"That… is a very broad topic. Not many will agree as to what it is and what it is meant to do in essence, and for those who believe and actively practice it they can all agree on one thing; it is meant to guide, protect, and heal, and that no ill intent should be brought onto others. We draw on the natural and primal energy that flows through our world, and it is not a talent that you have to be born with to possess." At this point she started to gesture a little with her hands.

"The primary regulations can, again, vary from individual to individual depending on the path they take, but all that believe and practice it know that if magic is used to manipulate and rob someone of their free will, or to bring harm upon them then the very same fate can befall or become attracted to the one who used such magic." Varric gave a whistle at that.

"So, magic in your world can be very flexible so long as you don't use it to do bad stuff, is that right?" He asked with a slight cock of his head "And this little sister you mentioned earlier, not sure what your situation is, but are you doing alright here? Knowing that your little sis is back home?" His tone was more gentle when he asked and Enola lightly chewed her lip at that.

"You are understanding it right, and… well, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't worried for her, especially since she's a narcoleptic."

Thalasan gave her a concerned look as he asked the following question "A narcoleptic?" She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"What she has is known as narcolepsy; It's when you have trouble staying awake during the days and you can pass out at random points in time, the person affected also has a hard time trying to fall asleep at night. It was difficult for her, still is today, but we find that having her on a certain sleep schedule helps. She isn't too trusting of medication."

"So she spends most of her time asleep?" Bull inquired to which he earned a nod.

"Yeah, she basically does, and that's actually where she gets her experience with spirits from. She's become highly skilled in that area, though it still doesn't make it any less dangerous even when she's highly cautious."

"I imagine it would be what with spirits trying to tempt you and the such." Solas spoke up, changing the topic so the woman's mind wasn't too clouded with worry.

Enola seemed a little thankful for the change of subject as she gave a nod "Yes, again I'm not sure as to how it is with you here, but-" and with that the conversation on spirits and other topics continued throughout the travel until they had to set up camp as the sun began to fall.

Enola had approached Thalasan as they were setting up the tents "Would it be alright if I shared a tent with you? We could attempt to communicate with this spirit that you've been seeing in your dreams."

Thalasan looked over at her and Cassandra gave her an uneasy look "Are you sure the Herald would be alright?"

"I promise you that I won't let any harm befall him, I will make sure he comes out of it fine." She said in reassuring words.

Cassandra scanned her eyes for a moment before giving a brief nod just as Solas joined "Could I potentially come with you? If it's possible of course." Enola gave a shake of her head at that.

"No, too many people and it'll frighten them, at least it would be frightened seeing more foreigners from a world it doesn't recognise. It would put it more at ease if it's just me and him, and it would make it safer for us to walk through its domain."

The elf was clearly disappointed at that but he nodded his head in understanding "Alright, I understand, perhaps afterwards you could give me information as to what transpired between the three of you."

The Mod smiled at that and nodded "Of course."

Everybody had settled down into their tents, and just like the other night before Enola and Thalasan were the only ones awake, the Herald having told her that he wanted to relax for a moment before they delved into the Fade to face the foreign spirit. After a certain amount of time had passed in silence he now sat by the fire and gently flexed his marked hand, keeping his breathing steady as he closed his eyes and Enola watched quietly, standing up and walking over to Thalasan before grabbing his hand with hers. Thalasan opened his eyes and looked up at her, soon feeling a kind of change around their environment.

It was a sensation that was difficult to describe other than that everything felt like it had its own unique heartbeat, a rhythm that hummed and sunk deep into his core. He then took notice of the lack of great discomfort coming from his mark and smiled gratefully at Enola "I'm to assume that was your magic?"

"It was, does your mark always hurt like that?" She asked in a hushed tone.

Thalasan was silent for a moment before speaking "It only flares up every now and then, when it gets bad I normally brew a tonic for it."

Enola sat down beside him, crossing her right leg over her left and leaning back against her palms "How long has it been doing that for?"

"Ever since I got it. It was worse before I stabilised the Breach." Thalasan gave a mere shrug at that as he kept his hand placed on his lap, fingers curled slightly with the palm facing the sky.

Silence fell between the two of them until Enola spoke up once more "So, are you ready for tonight?" She asked in a soft tone, directing her eyes towards Thalasan's own.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I'll awaken Cassandra so she can start her shift as watch." He stood up with Enola following after.

"I shall be in the tent then." Was all she had to say as she made her way towards their tent while Thalasan went to awaken the Seeker.

* * *

Suspended breath, an uncomfortable pressure on the lungs, familiarity of solid ground swiftly slipped away in favour of floating in midair. Or was he in midair? Was he in water? It was hard to tell, a feeling that was foreign to him could give him no explanation. A twitch of his fingers, a slight flutter of his eyes and soon he could see that he was just beneath the surface. Another blink of his eyes and a hand is pulling him out, bringing him up onto land and holding him steady as his feet tried to make sense of the odd solidity the water took on beneath his feet. His violet eyes scanned the area before him, mist in the farthest distance with black, gnarled crystal trees that rose from the waters and reached high above the obscured air. Iridescent white flowers bloomed from their twisted branches and Ospreys perched on their black faceted surface, meanwhile the large root systems stretched out far beneath the water's surface and disappeared within the depths, the roots housing sea snakes that slithered out of the waters and up the trunks to lazily lay idle with the hawks on the branches.

Both animals stared intently at the two, though showed no intent to harm him or the companion he had by his side. He looked to her, and was surprised to see her no longer displaying the physical form she was known for. Her body was a deep midnight black and retained her tall stature, but instead of being mechanical her arms, legs, and tail were all organic. Her deep brown hair had shifted into a soft white, becoming blurry at the ends as if the strands were transforming into energy while her eyes were just pure lights of golden brown that retained their sharp shape. Small spines of uncut blue green tourmaline ran along the length of her back, and the crests that were on her helmet were now protruding from her head and through the blanket of snow white hair like horns made of the same blue green tourmaline that only revealed it's true colours in the right lighting, marking her as if she were of feral royalty. The claws on her hands and feet were also made of the same stone, scratched and worn from battle.

Admittedly she was stunning, and it was almost hard to believe that it was her if it weren't for some similarities of appearance. Her naked body had no genitalia, it was smooth and appeared as if it were shadows that had been pressed tightly into the form she stood in. She looked down to him and gave him a small smile, and strangely enough aside from her eyes and mouth her face lacked everything else, smooth like the rest of her body and looking as if it were a mask.

No physical words were spoken, only thoughts conveyed from mind to mind _**'We are on the outskirts of its domain, it should be further ahead.'**_ Enola had sent the thought to him to which he nodded and the two proceeded deeper into the ethereal sanctuary.

The birds flew about, the snakes slithered and swam, but all had eventually stopped focusing on them and went about whatever it was that they did here. The strange but crystal clear water beneath their feet would ripple with every step they took, and the elf couldn't help but let his eyes wander around the scenery. He noted how some of the trees appeared younger, some even looked recently sprouted, while others looked to have been here for many years. That's when he heard them, faint voices echoing within the crystal shells, and that's when he sees them, flickers of colour weaving through the petals of every blooming flower that morphed into different human figures and scenes.

His eyes glance to the animals, and they're now peering at him with a look of warning. The look was all he needed to understand a small part of the picture, and he glanced to Enola who gave a small nod of her head to confirm his suspicions; whatever dwelt in the crystalline flora was not something to tamper with.

Time felt… off in this dreamscape, and before he knew it they now stood before a crystal tree that towered high and mighty above them all, the mere trunk was massive to the point that no one could come remotely close to wrapping their arms around it. There at the base of it laid the spirit, feathery white wings tucked neatly behind it while their hands laid atop each other on their lap. They held the same avian features of the osprey, but the colouration was in reverse; the underbody and the marginal coverts a pitch black while the primary coverts were white. From there the feathers on the wings were a soft white with the primaries containing streaks of black rippling across like simmering water, the upper side of the wings a more prominent white with varying shades of grey.

Unlike Enola their midnight black legs were more avian, but still looked strong enough to hold their weight with talons on both hands and feet that looked like smooth howlite, featuring the same scratches and worn appearance of battle but appearing more cracked and rough. Black feathers rose along the length of its lower arms, growing longer the closer it was to the elbows with small flecks of white on the ends before stopping at the joints. Their hair was white as well and the ends flickered like energy, similar to Enola's own, but the difference was that their hair was incredibly long and held in a tight ponytail, moving as if the locks were mist that curled around their lower body like a serpent. Their bangs were swept off to the right in a neat manner, and the hair moved in a gentle wave and sat just above the right eye.

Enola soon stopped and made no intent on moving forward, so Thalasan continued on his own while the female kept a certain distance. The spirit sat among the writhing roots as if they were trying to protect it, while half their body was submerged and floating underwater, something that didn't really seem to bother it as it continued to rest peacefully. Or at least, everything appeared peaceful.

Something felt off and it wouldn't leave him be, prickling at the back of his neck as he came closer to the slumbering form. The waters began to shift and his steps became more cautious, something stirring beneath the surface that darkened the liquid. The snakes darted away, the ospreys took to the skies, and Enola straightened as something began crawling out from the depths. Lime green light acting as eyes fluttered, opening half way before closing again as their body began to twitch and the mass began wrapping itself around their legs and up their torso. Memories came springing to life in the elf's mind, and before he knew it he found himself enacting the scene once again, except he saw it with clarity now:

 _ **Energy from the mark coursed through the body and with every step it was injected into the waters like a bright green chemical, swirling and twisting towards the shadows. Roots clutter closer together, not happy with the intruder but a flare from the mark made them shriek and writhe away from the form that was swiftly being pulled under, limbs wrapped tightly and constrained. Breathing became strained, the head beginning to snap back and forth as black lips part to make a sound, yet like always nothing comes out as the waters swirl into a storm.**_

 _ **Hard to keep footing on the liquid ground, feet stumbling but still moving, body sinking faster and faster into the chaotic depths until hands shot out to grab the other's own. A loud crash of water, waves rising up to engulf them both, and a companion struggles to get to the two. A hard yank of the arms, eyes fully opening and boring into his own, words said in a harsh whisper;**_

" _ **Wake up!"**_

* * *

Like back in Haven Thalasan awoke with a sharp breath and bolted upright in bed, sweat dripping down his forehead as he slowly regained his composure. He glanced to his side and saw Enola beginning to stir, a groan of pain escaping her lips as she delicately touched her temple.

"Not what I was expecting exactly…" She mumbled under her breath as she slowly sat up just as Varric popped his head into the tent and let out a sigh of relief.

"They're alright now." He called to the others and Thalasan could faintly make out a 'Thank the Maker' from Cassandra.

"What happened in the Fade exactly? The two of you were fine earlier until, well… you two weren't looking so good, mumbling in your sleep while the mark sparked and all that." He nodded to the two of them.

Before Thalasan answered the dwarf's question he looked to Enola "That wasn't a spirit, was it?" He asked, remembering how Enola appeared in the Fade, to which Enola lightly frowned at that.

"It would be better if I explained it to everyone."

"From the sounds of it, it would." Varric commented before he left the tent.

It was a moment before Thalasan and Enola left their tent, the others waiting curiously as to what Enola had to say about the dream and its spirit. She rubbed the back of her neck and first started off with "It seems like I'm not the only one here in Thedas."

"You're joking?" Came Bull's response.

Solas was quick to ask "Do people back home look nothing like their physical form when dreaming?" With a slight tilt of his head.

Thalasan gave a nod at that to confirm it "Enola looked nothing like her waking self when we were in the Fade, and this person wasn't active. They were asleep when we found them, and they didn't react or do anything up until we left."

"If that is the case then do you know where they are?" Cassandra asked.

Enola sighed and ran her mechanical fingers through her hair "No, not exactly anyways. I can give a general direction though." With that she pointed in the direction of the Hinterlands.

It seemed now they had one more extra task to do there.


End file.
